Anniversary of a WWI Death

The Pittsburgh Catholic, February 28, 1924

Last week was the anniversary of my great-uncle's death in France during World War I. George J. Stenglein was born to German parents just 1 week after they arrived in New York in 1891. The family soon settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. George served in the Army from September 21, 1917, until his death on September 26, 1918. My grandmother was only 10 years old when her oldest brother was killed in action.

Several years after George's death, The Pittsburgh Catholic listed him among the names of the city's Catholic soldiers who were buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery. Here's part of the newspaper article:

     "Many Catholic graves in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery, located at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, (Meuse), France, have been recently blessed. The graves of American heroes from the Diocese of Pittsburgh are listed below.
     The location of this cemetery is within the area of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the greatest engagement in which American troops ever participated. During the forty-seven days' struggle 1,200,000 Americans were engaged, suffering 120,000 casualties.
     Upon completion of concentrations there will be 13,969 interments in the American cemetery. The data on the Catholic heroes has been assembled through cooperation of the pastors, the Catholic press, and the Bureau of Records, N.C.W.C. [National Catholic Welfare Conference]
     The following are grave records of young men of the Pittsburgh diocese who, serving in the World War, made the supreme sacrifice and whose bodies are buried in the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery..."

Each man's military unit, date of death, and grave location in the cemetery were also provided by the newspaper.

• Paul Adamski, Braddock
• Joseph Battaglia, Sharpsburg
• Anthony Broestel, Pittsburgh
• John F. Coakley, Washington
• Dominico Colaizzi, Pittsburgh
• Patrick Paul Collins, McKeesport
• James Connolly, Pittsburgh
• Edward R. Connors, Pittsburgh
• John Patrick Corrigan, McKeesport
• Patrick J. Cronin, Pittsburgh
• Domenico Dimasi, Greensburg
• Andrew Early, Pittsburgh
• Barton W. Elliott, Springdale
• George W. Fleischer, Butler
• Oscar John Gallas, Pittsburgh
• Stephen Gasper, St. Vincent
• Lorenzo Gentile, Jeannette
• Paul Grabowski, Braddock
• Albert Jacob Hohman, Pittsburgh
• John Hutchinson, New Salem
• John P. Jene, Pittsburgh
• Alex Johnston, Turtle Creek
• Walter R. Johnston, Pittsburgh
• William B. Kamer, Ford City
• James M. Keady, Pittsburgh
• Daniel R. Kelley, Mt. Pleasant
• John P. Kirby, Pittsburgh
• Andrew H. Klein, Pittsburgh
• Karl Kleinert, McKees Rocks
• Joseph Kohuth, Glencampbell
• Louis F. Krezanosky, Avella
• Walter Kudzman, Vandergrift
• Andrew Leap, Pittsburgh
• Ellsworth J. Lew, Carrick
• Donato Maesano, Sharpsburg
• Fiore Marchegioni, Bradenville
• Samuel Martello, Braddock
• Marco Mercurio, Greensburg
• Peter J. Och, Pittsburgh
• Vincenzo Piccirillo, Butler
• John Plehta, Uniontown
• Stanley Price, Glassport
• Michael Puskat, Burgettstown
• William A. Reinhardt, Pittsburgh
• Frank J. Rieble, Pittsburgh
• Ludwig Rigotti, Sutterville
• Sylvester Rombach, Pittsburgh
• Anthony Ryder, Braddock
• George A. Schafer, Millvale
• William E. Schaffer, Duquesne
• Alphonse A. Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Schmidt, Pittsburgh
• George Joseph Schmitt, Pittsburgh
• Nicola Serago, Jeannette
• Michael Snee, Kittanning
• Christopher A. Steighner, Coylesville
• John Steininger, Blairsville
• George J. Stenglein, Pittsburgh
• John H. Theuret, Freeport
• Bernard W. Travers, Castle Shannon
• Emanuel G. Tschippert, Pittsburgh
• George J. Wintz, Pittsburgh
• Steve Wolf, Connellsville
• William H. Zewe, Duquesne
• Mike Joseph Zoldak, Coral

You can search issues of The Pittsburgh Catholic (1844-2001) in Duquesne University's Gumberg Library Digital Collections. 

Related Post:  Consider Catholic Newspaper Archives

Clues to Great-Grandma's Birth Town

How can a woman born in 1876 be such a mystery? I don't know the parents of my great-grandmother, Alice Laubersheimer Huber (other than the names passed down in family stories). I don't know for sure where she was born. But there are some clues.

Google Map of Strasbourg,
Gerstheim, & Mulhouse in France

A birth certificate for one of her daughters says that Alice was born in "Strassburg, Alssaice-Lorraine." A birth record for her half-sister indicates that Anna Laubersheimer Milliken was born in Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France. In between those towns (see the map), a birth record for an uncle, Frederick Waldschmidt, shows that he was born in Gerstheim, Bas-Rhin, France.

Unfortunately, I haven't found the birth of my great-grandmother in any of those towns. A search of the online records in both the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin archives came up empty. There was no Alice and no other Laubersheimers (other than Anna).

The records for other family members often give you clues to information about your direct ancestors. But many times more digging is required.

Related Posts:

• Find French Birth Records
• Family Clues in Birth Certificates
• Lost Sisters
• Is Frederick Waldschmidt My Uncle?

Immigrant Ancestors and the Elusive Town of Origin

I have 17 direct ancestors who were immigrants in the United States. The earliest arrival appears to be my Rüttger branch in 1846, which is very different from those of you whose families have been in the U.S. since colonial times! My immigrant ancestors include great-grandparents (4), 2nd great-grandparents (7), and 3rd great-grandparents (6). Most of my immigrant ancestors (12) came from Germany, three from Canada (though two were born in the U.K.), and two from France.

I have A LOT to learn about them, with the most important unknown being that often elusive town of origin. The only towns that I'm sure of are Artolshiem and Dambach-la-Ville in France, Pirmasens and Miesenheim in Germany, and Seneca Township in Ontario, Canada. That's not good. I have 10 direct ancestors where my research is stuck in the U.S. unless I determine the German towns where these ancestors used to live.

From the 1890 U.S. Passport Application for my 
2nd great-grandfather who arrived in the U.S. on 1 May 1854

Online trees from sites like Geneanet.org, index-only records on FamilySearch, and sibling church records have given me a place to start, but there's more work to do before concluding that these are definitely the towns. These places in Germany include Bettingen, Großkarlbach (2), Lambsheim, and Wiesbach (2). And then there are the 4 German ancestors who have given me zero clues pointing to where they came from. Sigh.

A recent birthday gift has given me renewed inspiration to continue the search for these towns. I've just read a few chapters of James Beidler's Trace Your German Roots Online, which was released at the end of April, but it's pushed me to revisit these immigrant ancestors. I'll definitely post any progress I make.

If you have any success stories about locating the towns of your German immigrant ancestors, please share them with me!

Caroline Ziegler Wey Watched 2 Children Leave France

Image from Caroline Ziegler's

death record, Bas-Rhin Archives

I don't know much about the life of my 3rd great-grandmother, Caroline Ziegler Wey, but I'm thankful for the facts I've been able to find in the online vital records of the Bas-Rhin Archives.

Caroline was born on October 10, 1810, in Dambach-la-Ville, a commune in northeastern France, to parents Jean Baptiste Ziegler and Petronilla Zaepffel. At the age of 19, she married Jean (sometimes called Johann) Wey on October 22, 1829, in Dambach-la-Ville.

The couple had at least four daughters and two sons. Her youngest daughter, Caroline Wey Huber, left for the United States around 1866 and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Another child, son Emile Wey, would follow his sister five years later.

Caroline Ziegler Wey died on Christmas Day in 1879. Her husband had died four years earlier. Although he had been born in Germany, Caroline spent her entire life in the same area of France. There's no way to know if she heard from her two children in the U.S. ever again.

Related Post:  Find French Birth Records

Find French Birth Records

My 2nd great-grandparents, Ignace "Charles" and Caroline Wey Huber, were born in France, were married in France, and had their first child in France. As I indicated in an earlier post (see link at the end), they left this son in France for several years while they built a life in the United States.

The French archives are absolutely wonderful since many birth, marriage, and death records have been scanned and are available online for free. They aren't searchable but, as long as you know the town, you can browse the images to find key records for your family members. Finding my uncle Alphonse Huber's birth record in the large Paris archives took a lot of patience, but it was worth it.

Birth record for Alphonse Antoine Huber, Paris, France, March 16, 1864
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

I wish I could read French, but I was able to understand a few things:

• Alphonse's middle name was Antoine, which was his paternal grandfather's name;
• His father, Ignace Hubert [sic], was a tailleur or tailor; and  
• His mother, Caroline Wey, was a couturière or dressmaker.

I also used the Bas-Rhin archives to locate Ignace's birth record in Artolsheim and Caroline's in Dambach-la-Ville. If my research was successful without knowing the language, then others looking for their French ancestors definitely can do it, too.

If you can read French and see any other important details in the birth record above, I would love to hear from you!

Related Posts:  

• Immigration: Leaving Children Behind
• The Huber Brothers of Akron & Pittsburgh

WWI Death: Remembering George J. Stenglein

On this Memorial Day, I would like to take time to remember my great-uncle George J. Stenglein who was killed in action during World War I. He was only 27 years old.

George's mother, Kunigunda Boser Stenglein, was pregnant with him when she and her husband John left Germany and arrived in New York on May 6, 1891. George was born eight days later in Newburgh, Orange County, New York. It was a temporary stop since the family settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the following year.

In 1910, at the age of 19, George was a laborer at a Pittsburgh bottle factory. His 1917 draft registration card shows his employer was Johnson-Peter Co., which was a boiler, tube and pipe dealer. George is described as being of medium height and medium build, with brown eyes and light hair. He stated that he had one sister who was "solely dependent on [him] for support," which would have been my grandmother. (His father was living but did not have a job in the 1920 census, so perhaps this was also true in 1917.)

His military records show that he was drafted into the U.S. Army in January 1918. On September 26, 1918, he was killed in action in France. My grandmother was only 10 years old when the family received the tragic news.

George J. Stenglein is buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. You can see his headstone on Find A Grave.

Is Frederick Waldschmidt My Uncle?

Frederick Waldschmidt

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am still searching for records to identify the parents of my great-grandmother, Alice Laubersheimer Huber. Oral history from family indicates that they are Fritz Laubersheimer and Caroline Waldschmidt, but I have no proof.

The 1899 passenger record that I believe is for Alice shows an "Elise Laubersheimer" of the right age traveling to her final destination of "Pittsburg, Pa." The record indicates that her passage was paid by her uncle and that she was planning on joining her "uncle: Fred. Waldschmidt" in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Since I was hoping that this connection between Alice and Frederick would lead me to her parents, I searched for more information on Frederick. A biography and the photo above appear in the 1897 book "City of Allegheny, Pa: Illustrations and Sketches of the Banking, Wholesale and Manufacturing Interests and the Representative Professional Interests of Allegheny County":

"Frederick Waldschmidt, alderman, was born June 26, 1848, in Elsass, then a part of France. He was educated in the public schools of his country and began a business life in connection with a manufactory of boots and shoes. He was a soldier in the army of France, in the Franco-Prussian war, and for valor on the battlefield, was made a sergeant-major. After his arrival in this country he engaged in the insurance and real estate business. Before coming to Allegheny he served as tax collector, justice of the peace and borough treasurer of Glenfield borough, Allegheny county. Since residing here he has served in council. Mr. Waldschmidt was married January 17, 1878, to Magdalena Teutenberg. He is one of Allegheny's substancial [sic] citizens, and enjoys the confidence of many who are honored by his acquaintance. He is secretary of the Allegheny building association, and a director of the German National building and loan association, and not only takes great interest in these organizations, but is one of the best posted men on building association affairs in the United States. His office is at 157 Ohio Street. Mr. Waldschmidt is a member of Voegtly's Church."

Frederick died on April 15, 1918, and I found a great clue on his Pennsylvania death certificate. It states that he was born in Gerstheim, Alsace, France, and that his father Daniel was born in Goersdorf, Alsace, France. Since many French records are online, I hoped that I could find Frederick's birth record and, by browsing other years, see if he had a sister named Caroline Waldschmidt.

In the online Bas-Rhin Archives, I found Frederick's French birth record for June 26, 1848, in Gerstheim to parents Daniel Waldschmidt and Elisabeth Frauenfelder:

I also found birth records from Gerstheim for two sisters, Salome (1845) and Madeleine (1846). Additional siblings were born in Boofzheim, France: Salome (1856), Sophie (1858), Auguste (1860), and Edouard (1862). No Caroline. There is a gap of eight years between Frederick's birth in 1848 and the second Salome in 1856, so there could have been another move during that period. I browsed nearby towns and haven't found anything yet.

So I still don't know if Frederick Waldschmidt is a relative, but I will keep looking in the hope that it leads me to the names of Alice Laubersheimer's parents.

Two notes:

1. There is an Illinois death record for a Daniel Waldschmidt that shows he is another sibling of Frederick since their parent names match. Daniel's birth is shown to have been in "Straussberg, Germany" in 1854.
2. The Pennsylvania marriage license application of Alice's half sister, Anna Laubersheimer, shows Anna's parents were Phillip Laubersheimer and Fredericka "Wallsmith." So, while I've always assumed they had the same father, it's possible that they share the same mother who married another Laubersheimer.

Related Posts:

• Family Clues in Birth Certificates
• Family Birth: Alice Huber in 1905
• Who Was Your Ancestor's Employer?

Firemen Switch from Horses to Motor Vehicles 100 Years Ago

The September 1913 issue of Municipal Engineering includes an article, "Motor Fire Apparatus," which describes the benefits that fire departments and cities could gain from substituting motor vehicles for horses. One of my 2nd great-uncles was a firefighter in Pittsburgh during this time period, so it caught my eye.

Caption from the article: "Climbing Gunboat Hill, New York, with one of the thirty-
five Mack combination chemical and hose trucks which are used in this city."

Below are a few paragraphs from the article, which I found in The Internet Archive.

"Within the next ten years over $80,000,000 will be invested in motor-driven fire apparatus. The majority of this will be spent within five years. During the last eighteen months the number of pieces of motor apparatus has increased from 600 to over 2,000. There are now in use 20,000 pieces of apparatus drawn by 35,000 horses. Pittsburg is motorizing its fire department and will effect a 50% profit on the transaction. The property loss in Springfield, Mass., was $369,000 less in 1912 than in 1907. The number of motors in use between these dates was increased by 19. Isn't it self-evident that motors will eventually supplant fire horses in the U.S.?

...

Paris has advanced much further in this direction than American cities, the municipal council of the French capital having decided to abolish horses from all municipal service. Following a test of various types of motor vehicles by the street cleaning department last year, the authorities have recently put into service a large number of combination street watering and sweeping machines and electric garbage wagons. In five of the twenty city wards the horse had been displaced by these machines up to last April, and other wards had made a partial change. ... Doubtless it will be some years before American cities reach the advanced position of Paris, but it is certain that in time all big cities will abolish horses from municipal service, and some will prohibit or restrict their use by private citizens.

Pittsburg is motorizing her fire department rapidly, a process that John H. Dailey, director of the department of public safety, estimates will take about three years to complete. He predicts that there will hardly be a city of any size in the United States in five years where fire apparatus is not mostly self-propelled. His prediction is based on personal experience with the efficiency and economy of motor equipment." 

There are many great photos of the different types of fire vehicles that were used in Tacoma, Washington; Delaware, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; Attleboro, Massachusetts; Tupelo, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; and Philadelphia.

Immigration: Leaving Children Behind

We've all heard the stories where a father went to America and left his wife and children behind until he could start a new life and save money for them to join him. But I'm not sure how common it was for both parents to come to the U.S. without their children.

Fifteen-year-old Annie Moore, the first person to enter through Ellis Island when it opened in 1892, traveled with her younger brothers to join her parents who had come to America three years earlier. So it definitely happened. As a mother myself, it's hard to imagine leaving my son and not knowing when, or if, I'd ever see him again. It had to be a difficult decision for both parents to leave behind a child.

In 1864, my 2nd great-grandparents, Ignace and Caroline Huber, were married in Paris, France, and worked as a tailor and dressmaker. Their first son, Alphonse, was born that same year. I'm not sure when the couple left France but, by 1868, city directories show they were in Allegheny City, which is now part of Pittsburgh, PA. The 1870 census shows that Alphonse--6 years old by this time--wasn't with them. He didn't see his parents again until 1871 when he arrived in the U.S. with his uncle, Emil Wey. Alphonse was separated from his parents for at least 3 years.

During your research, have you found a similar immigration story of both parents leaving their children to come to America?